Baddest Man on the Planet? It's Stefan Struve, jokes Roy Nelson

LAS VEGAS – Win the UFC heavyweight title, and you’re likely to be billed as the Baddest Man on the Planet.

Veteran Roy Nelson, though, suggested – tongue in cheek, perhaps – that the label could belong to a non-champion.

Nelson (23-14 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), a former UFC contender who recently made a successful Bellator debut, next meets Matt Mitrione (12-5 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) in Bellator 194’s main event. The Feb. 16 fight, which airs on Paramount from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., is part of Bellator’s yearlong heavyweight grand prix, which crowns a new champion in the weight class.

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It’s actually a rematch for Nelson, who beat Mitrione, who’s now ranked No. 11 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA heavyweight rankings, via TKO in 2012. Although Nelson said he welcomes rematches, he prefers they come against fighters he lost to – not those he’s already beat.

Two of those past losses he’d like to run back? They came via decision in back-to-back fights in 2013, when he lost to Stipe Miocic (now the UFC heavyweight champion) and Daniel Cormier (the reigning light-heavyweight champ).